Amy's First Show -- HEARTLAND, A SHORT STORY
by Zapsalis
Summary: Growing up, Amy lived on a farm. Heartland. She spent some time training for this day... finally! It was time for her first show. There were many difficulties to get here to this moment, but she was able to get past them. Now that she's here, at the show, she confronts a whole other problem. How will she beat this girl who's been Amy's enemy ever since she was five?


"You can do this, Amy," a blonde woman said as she pat the girl's pony, "just remember what I taught you to do, Count your strides. Keep your reins collected but don't tug too hard. Heels down, chin up, back straight, shoulders back, and pinkies out. And don't forget to _breath._"

"I know, mom." the little girl spoke. She appeared to be at least 8 years old. Her name was Amy and this was her first show-jumping show; Majestic Oaks Juniors' show-jumping competition was the name of the show. Young riders from the ages 8 through 10 were aloud to compete. Amy had just reached the age to compete; she was terrified. All the kids there were older than her since she had just turned 8 the month before. She had been practicing for months but was still nervous. But she wouldn't show it.

Amy's mother, Marion, gave the girl a smile, "You'll do great."

_'That was a great run!'_ The judge yelled through the speaker, _'Up next is Ashley Stanton on her pony Flame!'_

Amy never liked that girl, Ashley. She would always be teasing her at school; she would make fun of her eq, how Ashley's horses are better than Amy's, how Ashley lives in a fancier place, she would make fun of countless things. Before the show, Amy tried to be nice and went up to Ashley as she was tacking up her pony to wish her luck. But, of course, Ashley responded with 'I don't need luck. Everyone here is horrible at riding. I will win _for sure._' Amy rolled her eyes at her and left. Now, Amy wants to prove that Ashley isn't the best rider at the competition. Amy was going to win this thing.

As Ashley brought her bay pony, Flame, to the arena, Amy started talking to her pony, Trigger. Trigger was an adorable 12.2hh chestnut Welsh Mountain Pony gelding. He and Amy had a pretty strong bond since she had been riding him for a couple of years now. When Amy's grandfather, Jack, found out that she wanted to compete in show-jumping one day, he bought Trigger as a surprise for her and she was delighted when she saw him.

"We can win this, boy," Amy said as she patted his neck, "try your best, alright?" Trigger nickered at her words and a grin appeared on Amy's face.

Amy watched Ashley and Flame jump over the poles flawlessly. She did have a great eq for a girl her age but Amy was better, she just never had the chance to prove it to Ashley. Ashley finished the course, only knocking down one pole which was the last one.

_'Excellent! Ashley Stanton scores high and is now in first place!'_

Amy looked at the scoreboard to see what time she had to beat.

Ashley Stanton - 1:34

"Okay, boy, we just have to go over the jump faster than 1 minute and 34 seconds." Amy said quietly into Trigger's ears as she stroked his neck. She then turned her head to the board that showed the jumping course. It was simple, Amy had done more complicated courses than that. The highest the jumps would go were 2 feet high.

The Jumping Course

"We can do this." She grinned at her pony as she waited for her name to be called, she was the last one to compete.

_'Up next is Amy Fleming riding Trigger! This is her first show, let's see how well she does.'_

"Good luck, Amy." Marion spoke, making Amy look back and smile at her. Marion returned the smile and watched as Amy left to go into the arena.

Amy gripped her reins nervously, adrenaline running in her veins. _It's an easy course. I can do this. _She brought Trigger up to a trot and turned him into a circle before bringing him up into a canter. _Okay, okay, heels down, chin up, breath..._ She took a deep breath before she and Trigger leapt over the first jump. It was just 1 foot tall, the easiest jump in the course. Then it was the next one, it was a little higher than the first one. Easy. They jumped perfectly over all 4 of the jumps. Now it was time to jump over the two most difficult ones in the course. Number 5 was a cross rail at least 1'8 high. She was able to jump just fine, then it was number 6. The last one. It was a double rail jump 2 feet high. But it wasn't just one, it was two right next to each other. Amy knew she needed to speed up for a wider jump. She brought Trigger into a faster canter, counting strides became a bit difficult now since her pony was going faster. _1, 2, 1, 2._ Trigger, as always, wanted to jump a couple strides before but Amy had to keep him going. They reached the jump at the perfect place and signaled Trigger that it was time to jump. Trigger easily made it over the jump since they were in the right place and the right speed. They made it!

_'That was an amazing run! Congratulations Amy and Trigger, you have won the competition.'_

Everyone began clapping and cheering as Amy and Trigger left the arena. Amy glanced at the scoreboard to see what she got.

Amy Fleming - 1:28

"That was amazing!" Amy heard a voice come from behind her as she dismounted her horse. She then felt arms wrap around her in a hug, it was her mother. Amy smiled widely, she couldn't believe she won her first show!

"It was awesome," Amy spoke excitedly, "I'm entering the next show for sure!"

Amy's grandfather, Jack, and her older sister, Lou who was a few years older than Amy, came to congratulate her.

"Great job, Amy!" Jack congratulated her as he pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, you were great," Lou commented, "you did better than I did at your age!" Lou didn't seem jealous at all, she was really happy for her younger sister.

_'If all riders and horses that placed third and up could please head over to the arena again to get their ribbons.'_

"Could someone give me a leg-up, please?" Amy asked before Jack helped her back on Trigger. She walked Trigger back into the arena, stroking his neck and telling him 'good job' the whole time there.

_'Third place goes to Willow Rissler on Diamond.'_

Clapping was heard as a woman attached a white ribbon on the palomino mare's bridle.

_'Second place goes to Ashley Stanton on Flame.'_

Amy watched as the woman gave the bay gelding a red ribbon. She looked up to Ashley who didn't appear to be too content about it.

_'And first place goes to Amy Fleming on Trigger!'_

The woman then attached the blue ribbon on Trigger's bridle, it spooked him a bit since he had never seen a ribbon on him but he calmed down.

Ashley glared at Amy, who was too joyful to even realize it. She kept saying "Great job!" to her pony as he nickered happily, knowing that he had won a competition and that he would get lots of treats back at home.

**A/N: I enjoyed writing this short story about Heartland. :3 And I hope you enjoyed reading it! Thanks for reading. :D**


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